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If we could count on one thing throughout 2023, it was the constant onslaught of hilarious and oftentimes downright strange TikTok trends. The video platform has become known for kickstarting a swathe of viral moments, from the dawn of the so-called “girl dinner” to a worldwide quest to discover everyone’s thoughts about the Roman Empire.
The break-neck speed of TikTok trends (and indeed, the seconds-long attention span of this writer) makes recalling the platform’s biggest moments a little tricky. So we’ve done all the hard work for you, with an official list of the ten biggest TikTok trends from 2023. Start waving those beige flags and channelling some serious Wes Anderson energy.
Girl dinner
Our collective bellies were full on TikTok in 2023, when the so-called “girl dinner” blew up on the platform in May. The trend saw millions of users capturing their measly, snack-based meals alongside a catchy audio repeating the phrase “girl dinner.”
The recipes in question — marked for their ease and usually constituting a handful of pantry staples — ranged from charcuterie boards to buttered pasta. The trend boasts almost 3 billion views at the time of writing.
The Roman Empire
Wives and girlfriends across the world were left scratching their heads in 2023, upon the realisation that many of their male counterparts think about the Roman Empire far more often than they realised. The trend saw millions of users question their partners about the frequency of their thoughts about the historical period, and subsequently capture their shocked and hilarious reactions.
Naturally, women on TikTok began questioning what the female equivalent of the Roman Empire might be, with some putting forth the Salem Witch trials or simply the thought of a former best friend. The term “this is my Roman Empire” soon became a shorthand for issues or topics that users thought about a great deal.
Wes Anderson aesthetic
The distinct aesthetic of Wes Anderson was a muse for legions of TikTokers in 2023, when more than 250, 000 users adopted the director’s style to romanticise their lives. The song “Obituary,” pulled from Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch, was used to soundtrack mundane routines from users’ everyday life, from making a morning coffee to taking a walk through the park. Naturally, an onslaught of pastel colours and symmetrical frames overtook our TikTok feeds.
Red, green and beige flags
Dating was top of mind for millions of TikTok users last year, as legions of hopeful romantics put forth their picks for the red, green and beige flags in a potential suitor. While the former two colours are self-explanatory, the so-called “beige” flags of a partner came to mean any characteristics that are present, but not particularly noteworthy.
This could be any neutral qualities that aren’t necessarily deal-breakers but might be vaguely annoying or bland, like only reading a book at an airport, misusing popular phrases, or eating pizza with a fork. The trend amassed nearly nine billion views.
Sassy man apocalypse
While the term was originally coined on X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, the dawn of the so-called “Sassy man apocalypse” officially reached our TikTok feeds in 2023. It describes some users’ realisation that the men in their life possess sassy qualities usually reserved for women, and launched a broader discourse around gender norms and toxic masculinity. The sassy men leading the apocalypse were captured doing supposedly feminine things like giving hilarious side-eye, pouting for selfies, and delivering snappy retorts.
Aged Filter
More than 800 million users looked on as TikTok users applied a scarily realistic ageing filter to their faces in 2023. The AI-generated filter, noted by dermatologists on the platform for its accuracy, saw legions of users watch in horror or joy as the ageing process catapulted them into the future and gave them grey hair, wrinkles and frown lines.
Canon events
This writer was the subject of multiple canon events throughout 2023, to the point where “canon” became part of his everyday vocabulary. The trend – taken from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – refers to an event in users’ lives that might be difficult or cringeworthy, but is crucial for their character development and overall trajectory of their life. These canon events — which users argue cannot and should not be avoided — came to include people moving from the West Coast to New York City, or failing a crucial exam.
Things that altered my brain chemistry
Our collective minds were blown when an onslaught of users flocked to TikTok to share the topics, events or moments so impactful that they changed their perspectives and outlook on life. These brain chemistry-altering events included life-changing books, trips overseas and feats in engineering or architecture. For some, reflecting on the Roman Empire was enough to alter their brain chemistry.
Thank you to my man
When rapper Latto thanked her boyfriend during an award acceptance speech, she unknowingly influenced legions of girlfriends to express a similar level of gratitude to their man. The remixed audio of Latto’s speech spawned almost 400, 000 posts, often soundtracking women’s gratitude as their partners bought them dinner, listened to their rants or delivered a romantic gesture.
Paying the cheese tax
While it was originally the soundtrack of a video capturing one dog’s affinity for dairy, the inescapable “cheese tax” song came to signify any pet’s excitement when their owner is seen snacking. Matt Hobbs, the singer-songwriter behind the earworm audio, spontaneously launched a TikTok feed filled with puppy dog eyes and seriously hungry pets.